On Oct. 26, the Cornell Chronicle published “From Lost Boy of Sudan to Cornell grad student” highlighting the unimaginable journey of Ayuen Ajok ’11M, who spoke with middle school students in Ithaca, N.Y., on Oct. 21.

Prior to beginning his MPA studies at Cornell, Ajok spent significant time in Pennsylvania as a high school student in Lansdale, an undergraduate at Temple and as a graduate student in Arcadia University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program. Ajok came to Pennsylvania after surviving his experience as a Sudanese refugee in East Africa.

“I knew education would provide me the ability to draw some meaning from the suffering in my life,” said Ajok, who recounted his experiences with poverty, tragedy, and violence to students at Boynton Middle School.